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What Spiders are in Statesville, North Carolina?

As in most places in North America, spiders are widespread in Statesville, North Carolina. Hundreds of spider species call the area home. It is important to know the more common species. If you can identify them, you know which are potentially dangerous and which may be beneficial to your Statesville garden.

Wolf Spiders
- A wolf spider against a white background.
  
  Wolf spiders are large and hairy ground spiders. These common North Carolina arachnids don't spin webs and rarely become pests. According to the University of Kentucky, wolf spiders are often beneficial because they are avid hunters and will control insect populations in a garden or around a house. Because of their size and brown color, they can be confused with the brown recluse. Wolf spiders aren't known to attack people, and though they can bite, they are not poisonous.
Garden Spiders
- Orb weavers are commonly found sitting in the middle of their orblike webs.
  
  Garden spiders include a variety of passive spider species, including the black and yellow orb spinner and the banana spider. They can grow up to 3 inches in length. These spiders are identifiable by the perfect "orb"-like webs they often build in the garden. Though they can grow to intimidating sizes, an orb weaver's bite causes harm only to people with severe allergies to spider venom.
Black Widow
- The black widow is among the more common species of poisonous spiders in Statesville and throughout North Carolina. A black widow's bite is rarely deadly, but it does require immediate medical attention. Black widows are identified by the bright red hourglass shape on their undersides. They are cobweb weavers, meaning that their webs are not ornate like those of the orb weavers but rather are erratic like cobwebs.
Brown Recluse
- The brown recluse is often confused with the common wolf spider because of its color and general shape. This species, unlike the wolf spider, is poisonous and possibly deadly. As their name suggests, they are reclusive, preferring undisturbed areas in fields, sheds and basements. They weave erratic cobweb webs and are slightly smaller in size than wolf spiders when fully mature.
Funnel Web
- The funnel web spiders' habitat is usually spotted before the spider is. These webs are flat or funnel shaped and often cover junipers, grasses and yews in North Carolina. The spiders hide in the back of their funnel-shaped webs waiting to jump out and drag their unsuspecting prey into the funnel. They are brown or ivory colored and grow to .75 inches in length. These spiders are not poisonous.

Insects & Science